Last week, Founders House and MESH announced that they are going to merge and become one big startup facilitator. Both communities have each pioneered the startup industry for quite some time. Founders House in Copenhagen was established in 2011, while MESH was created in 2012 as the first Coworking space in Oslo.

As the startup community in the Nordics continues to grow, Mesh and Founders House see the merger as a logical next step for developing the region. The two companies both offer flexible office space and network for Nordic entrepreneurs and they share a strong focus on community and technology. 

“The commercial property market has not succeeded in adapting to the needs of the customers and is behind in both product offering and community-thinking. Companies today need flexibility, Service and network, and this requires landlords who are team players,” says Tine Thygesen, Co-Founder and CEO of Founders House.

Connecting the Nordics

Tine Thygesen will assume the role of CEO of the combined company. She will be assisted by Anders Mjåset, the Founder and CEO of MESH who will be acting as the new Chief Product Officer. Combined, the two companies provide office space of 6700 sqm and they will house 150 companies, consisting of 450 people. They will have 35 employees and a total turnover of 24 million DKK.

The Danish locations consisting of Founders House and Startup Village will continue unchanged. However, the two companies plan to expand with 5 new locations over the course of the next three years. The aim is to facilitate better synergy between companies in the region. Companies renting office space in one of the locations will seamlessly be able to move between the offices.

“Despite current orientation towards the US, the nordic countries are still the key export markets for each other. For that reason it makes sense to facilitate more direct access for companies within the region,” says Tine Thygesen.

The merger signals a new structure in the Nordic startup ecosystem facilitating flexibility and community. Combined, two companies aim to be even better equipt to help entrepreneurs interact and grow.